Why is Environmental Training Important?

According to a recent study conducted by British Chambers, 22% of businesses don’t fully understand the term ‘net zero’ and nearly a third have not sought advice or information to help develop a net zero roadmap or improve their sustainability efforts.

At GEP Environmental, we’ve worked with organisations at every stage of their environmental journey, and can say without question that environmental training is a critical aspect of ensuring that businesses, employees, and wider organisations understand how their actions impact the environment.

What is Environmental Training?

Environmental training is often part of an organisation’s sustainability initiative – a bid to increase a company’s awareness of the climate crisis, and the steps that can be taken to mitigate it. This understanding can be adjusted for every level – from managers and senior leadership seeking to embed sustainability at the very core of the business, to the operational employees who carry out the day to day tasks required to keep the organisation running smoothly. This knowledge even benefits the marketing and communications teams tasked with communicating about an organisation’s sustainability measures to prevent greenwashing.

Environmental training can be held over a range of topics to suit an organisation’s needs – everything from an introduction to the climate crisis and Net Zero Carbon, to the ins and outs of carbon accounting all the way through to developing a Net Zero Carbon strategy. Many of these courses are accredited by international bodies (our Carbon Management, Pathways to Net Zero and Intro to Net Zero courses are certified by the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA)) and are an excellent way to show customers and employees alike that your organisation is serious when it comes to sustainability.

Why is Environmental Training important, and how can it help your business?

Environmental Training gives employees and managers knowledge and awareness that allows them to move forward in a sustainable way, and the confidence to promote change within the organisation. Effective Environmental Training has the following benefits:

• Increasing organisational sustainability knowledge: it can be challenging to tackle the climate crisis without understanding its drivers. A training programme will ensure that your team has a thorough understanding of sustainability opportunities.
• Investing in employees: training is a convenient way to improves employee morale, and employees that feel positive about their employers report greater retention and improved job satisfaction and performance. It can also help your company attract potential employees – many job seekers find organisations with sustainability policies and programmes very appealing.
• Investing in your organisation: most organisations that undertake sustainability measures see direct cost benefits (think reduced energy bills and improved efficiencies) – but did you know that these measures could also increase profits? Consumers, just like employees, are more likely to shop from brands that they deem as sustainable – more that 60% of respondents to a recent McKinsey survey reported that they’d pay more for a product with sustainable packaging. Need more proof? Investing in your organisation through sustainability ensures that your business will be around for years to come – critical for maintaining profitability.
• Improving communication: training is a fantastic avenue to speak to your employees, and to get a feel for their needs, ensure support, listen to their ideas and to see your business from an entirely new perspective.
• Demonstrating social responsibility: environmental training is an excellent way to show your organisation is committed to becoming more sustainable and minimising environmental impact. This improves brand reputation, recognition and trust.

Curious about how Environmental Training could positively impact your organisation, but unsure of where to begin? A member of our Training Centre would be delighted to speak with you and offer their advice on a solution that’s tailored to your needs. Our popular open courses and bespoke courses are designed to develop your organisation’s environmental understanding and provide you with the knowledge to develop and succeed. For more information, get in touch today.